Age of no concern to members of Bombers offensive line

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This article was published 07/06/2023 (848 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There’s been a growing narrative around these parts for some time now and it has only built momentum as we inch closer to a new CFL season.

After making it to the last three Grey Cups, winning twice, there are many out there openly wondering just how long it will be until the Winnipeg Blue Bombers age out of their success. That’s meant to be read in the literal sense, as the Bombers have several key players — pretty much their entire leadership group — that are well into their 30s and on the back-nine of their illustrious CFL careers.

There are plenty of targets to take aim at with this argument — the Bombers have aging stars dotted throughout the lineup — but much of the noise seems to centre around the club’s offensive line. With left tackle Stanley Bryant (37), right tackle Jermarcus Hardrick (33) and right guard Patrick Neufeld (34) all in a race against time, it’s understandable that many would start to question just how long these men can continue to play the game, and at such a high level.

Peek inside the locker room and there’s a much different story being told.

This group isn’t all that worried about their fight with Father Time. They’re too busy putting in the work, and it’s their collective love for the game that has them still feeling that youthful exuberance every time they head out onto the field.

“They should come watch us practice. Then the games are where you can really tell,” Hardrick said following Wednesday’s workout. “We run around and have a lot of fun. I just love going to work with these guys every day.”

The Bombers don’t just have a good O-line, their front-five — which also include starters in centre Chris Kolankowski (31) and left guard Geoff Gray (28), as well as depth pieces Liam Dobson (25) and Tui Eli (27) — has been the envy of the CFL for years.

Bryant, the eldest of the group and arguably the best O-linemen every to strap on a pair of pads in the three-down game, wasn’t about to start a war of words. He’s heard the outside chatter, but simply shrugs it off, his focus sharply aimed at a Week 1 matchup against the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats Friday night.

In other words, he prefers his actions do the talking.

“I have no rebuttal,” Bryant said. “We’re just going to go out there each and every week, do what we do and prove that we can continue to play the game of football that we love and do it at a top level.”

Dobson was drafted by the Bombers with the third overall pick in the 2021 CFL Draft and is now in his second season with the Blue and Gold after dressing for 16 games last year. The 25-year-old has a front-row seat working with his fellow O-linemen.

A hard-nosed player who played his college ball at Texas State, Dobson thought he possessed a healthy dose of nasty to his game. Then he got to Winnipeg.

“Watching these guys, you see another level and it just makes you want to pick it up,” Dobson said. “We’re here early every day and stay late. We’re studying the nuances of the game, just things they’ve been able to pick up over the years.”

Dobson recalled one game last season in which Neufeld “took a guy and buried him on like the second or third play and I could hear him from the sideline yelling , ‘That’s one!’”

“So, the intent of playing physical is still there at their age,” Dobson added. “It’s not like they’re holding on to stay in the league another year. They’re here to be here.”

Brady Oliveira, at 25 years old, is one of the club’s youngest players. He’s also the Bombers’ No. 1 running back and so he works closely with the O-line, on the field and in the meeting rooms.

Oliveira is no stranger to contact; he loves the violence of the game and isn’t afraid to drop a shoulder into a defender to earn a couple of extra yards. It’s that willingness to play with such a consistently high level of physicality that leaves him in awe of his O-line teammates.

“You learn from them that the key to longevity in this game is what you do on the field and off, what you’re putting into your body, getting into the tub and other treatments like massages or meditation,” Oliveira said. “Just being able to see what these guys are doing, what’s allowing them to have these long careers is what I like to soak in. They’re true pros.”

Hardrick said he’s certainly altered his approach to the off-season compared to his younger years. He no longer attempts what he calls “ego lifting,” meaning he’s no longer trying to stack the weight to impress himself and his teammates.

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There’s a reason why Bryant has missed just two games over his seven years in Winnipeg; he, too, takes the work-harder-not-smarter approach to working out. He also leans on the knowledge he’s gained over the years — noting there aren’t many things he hasn’t seen or hasn’t had done to him by an opponent — in order to put himself in the best possible position to stay healthy.

As for the future, it’s hard to predict when a career will end, even if it is inevitable. Indeed, there will come a time for every player to hang up the cleats, which is why it’s so important to the members of the Bombers O-line — a group that spends a lot of time together away from the stadium and cares for each other like brothers — that they’re sharing all the knowledge and experience they can.

“They’re doing it for the right reasons. It’s pretty easy to work hard if you like who you’re working with, enjoy that part of the job,” O’Shea said. “A lot of guys in our building right now take a lot of pride in helping develop the young guys. They come in here and they want to win.”

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

Every piece of reporting Jeff produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.